Process for making a color selective Si detector array

ABSTRACT

A multiplicity of components form a photodiode array on a substrate. Each of the components consists of a transistor of the p-n-p type with the outermost p-doped layer being transformed into an optical filter by control of the anodic etching operation utilizing transistor characteristics of the respective transistor. The result can provide red, blue and green filters in a color camera.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a division of copending application 09/142,295 filed Sep. 3, 1998 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,255,709 which was based on PCT/DE97/00457 and on German national application 196 09 073.3 of Mar. 8, 1996 under the International Convention.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a color selective Si detector array with individually producible color filters of porous silicon. The invention also relates to a process for making same.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Porous silicon is produced very simply and inexpensively by anodic etching of monocrystalline silicon in a hydrofluoric acid solution. The porosity and microstructure of the porous silicon and thus also the optical refractive index depends, among other things, upon the doping of the starting material and the etching current density. By a change with time of the etching current density or by the use of a material with an appropriate doping profile, it is possible to produce porosity supergrids which can function as optical filters, for example, as Bragg Reflectors or Fabry-Perot Filters (M. G. Berger et al., J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 27, 1333, (1994)).

The application of such filters to an optical detector, for example, a pn-diode, changes the spectral sensitivity of the detector. The use of a number of detectors, with different filters enables, for example, color recognition or the detection of an energy spectrum of incident light with spatial resolution.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is to provide a detector array and a process for making same in which each individual detector is provided with an individual filter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This object is achieved by an array in accordance with the invention which comprises a transistor, especially a pnp transistor, whose uppermost layer (collector layer) is transformed by anodic etching at least partly to porous silicon. The object is further attained by a process for producing a component or a multiplicity of components with optional layer sequences having whereby the layer sequence has transistor functions, for example, npn transistor function, heterobipolar transistor function or pnp transistor function with a low-doped intermediate layer for producing an improved photodetector effect.

According to this aspect of the invention, the upper layer or layer sequence is made porous, an electrolyte provided above the layer sequence serves as one of the transistor connections, and the other transistor connections are suitably biased (especially both of them) so that each individual transistor is supplied with the desired etching current for forming a desired filter. Further preferred or advantageous embodiments or variants include a transistor wherein the porous layer is formed by doping modulation in the upper p layer and/or by modulation of the etching current so that an optical filter. effect is achieved.

An array, especially a detector array, can be formed with a multiplicity such transistors. By respective electrical energization of the respective transistor electrodes and thus the formation of different etching currents, a porous silicon layer is formed during the etching of the respective transistor with optical characteristics individual to that transistor. The emitters of the individual transistors can be connected columnwise and the base terminals can be connected row-wise or vice versa so that with the aid of suitable row and column voltages, individual transistors or transistor groups are controllable.

The nonanodically etched p layer and/or n layer can be so formed as a pn photodetector that the porous layer is effective as an optical filter. The nonanodically etched p layer or layers of individual components can be electrically so connected row-wise and the n layer or n layers can be so electrically connected columnwise that by an optical excitation generated electrical signal can be tapped from individual pn diodes between the associated row conductors and column conductor.

The components according to the invention can be formed as a plurality of filters, especially three, with the colors red, blue and green as a color filter, especially for a color camera.

One or more components can form a reference for other color filter elements or for evaluating bright/dark information of incident light by etching.

A component or multiplicity of components according to the invention can have a layer sequence of the following pattern:

substrate-n-p-n-p, whereby the upper pnp transistor is used for the control of the anodic etching and the lower npn transistor is used as a phototransistor.

In the process of the invention in which the collector layer of a pnp transistor is converted by anodic etching at least partly into porous silicon, the etching current is controlled by the transistor functions by application of suitable biases to the electrolyte and the electrodes (base, emitter) which are not in direct contact with the electrolyte.

The invention provides a multiplicity of pnp transistors on an insulating or undoped or n-doped substrate. The layer which lies closest to the substrate serves as emitter, the n-layer serves as the base, and the p-layer lying at the surface serves as the collector. The individual transistors are electrically separated from one another by an appropriate insulation (for example, mesa etching, insulation-implantation or the like).

Advantageously, an array of cells can be fabricated in which each cell contains pixel detectors for different colors, for example, red, green, blue. In addition, the array can be controlled for column-wise and row-wise readout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The above and other objects, features, and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing anodic etching of an array according to the invention in an etching cell; and

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic cross section of an array with two visible pn photodetectors with different filters.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION

In the etching process for producing the porous silicon, substantially only the p collector layer is etched through (completely or partly) when the etching is carried out with the exclusion of light. In this case, because of the negligible tendency toward pore formation in the n-doped material, the latter can be used as an etch stop for the base layer. In etching under the effect of light, the n-layer can also be partly etched. The etching current which is used can be the collector current of the pnp transistor with appropriate emitter voltage and base voltage. The collector layer is prebiased through the electrolyte. For the etching, an etching current must flow from the silicon to the electrolyte. This is precisely the case with a pnp transistor when the upper layer is electrically connected as the collector. By appropriate modulation of the emitter voltage or the base voltage and an emitter current or base current, the desired porosity supergrid or superimposed porosity grid can be etched in the collector layer of the transistor.

In the production of a multiplicity of detector elements, the transistors can be individually switched in or switched out or modulated or switched in or switched out or modulated in groups. The anodic etching occurs only on the collector layers at which the current flow takes place at any instant (FIG. 1). In this manner, it is possible, for example, to provide a third of the components with red filters, a third of the components with blue filters and a third of the components with green filters, respectively.

An advantageous electrical connection of the transistors is provided when the emitter contacts are formed columnwise and the base contacts are formed row-wise (or the reverse) for interconnection with one another. By the application of appropriate voltages at columns and rows, the transistors can be controlled individually or row-wise or columnwise.

In the use of the structure which is generated as optical detectors, the light passes through the layer system of porous silicon in the emitter-base pn diode which is used as a pn photodetector. The electrical signal which is generated is tapped off between the emitter contact and the base contact (FIG. 2).

With the above described row-wise and columnwise connection of the base electrodes and the emitter electrodes, the electrical signal of each individual pn diode can be tapped from corresponding row contacts and column contacts.

For the formation of an arrangement with a multiplicity of transistor functions with different filters, the following procedure, given in detail, can be applied:

1. Generation of a pnp layer sequence on insulating or undoped or n-doped silicon substrate or on a substrate or another material. The doping, when provided of the n-doped-silicon substrate or the p or n layers, can be in the range between, for example, 1×10¹⁴ cm³ and 1×10²⁰ cm³, the layer thicknesses amounting to, for example, 10 nm to 100 μm so that the layer sequences have transistor functions. The generation of the layer sequence can be effected with the aid of epitaxial growth or implantation or diffusion or a combination of these procedures.

2. Etching to expose the base layer.

3. Etching to expose the emitter layer.

4. Etching to isolate individual transistors.

NOTE: Instead of the etching to lay open the transistor layers, contact implantations are also possible, for example, an n-implantation for contacting the base layer.

Isolation etching can also be replaced by suitable implantations.

5. Metallization for the contacting of the emitter layer and base layer.

6. Row-wise and columnwise connection of the emitter terminals or collector terminals. Crossings and mesa flanks are electrically insulated by insulation layers.

7. Definition of the etching surfaces by an insulation layer. This is advantageously formed to be opaque to light, since the light to be detected does not pass through the underetched boundary region of the porosity filter into the detector.

NOTE: The production of the component array can also be achieved with other sequences of steps.

8. Anodic etching of the upper p layer. The transistors are energized individually or in groups in order to generate individual porosity super lattices.

9. Use as a detector array with pn diodes readable row-wise and columnwise whereby the single diodes have individual spectral sensitivities.

The process of the invention combines the advantages of conventional silicon technology with the very economical process of producing porous silicon. It allows the production of a photodetector array with row-wise and columnwise control in a particularly simple and economical manner and with individual spectral sensitivities for each individual detector. This enables the simple fabrication of an integrated color camera. The pnp structure used can be employed for the production of a read logic and for electronic further processing. It is also possible to apply MOS Technology upon a substrate. 

We claim:
 1. A process for producing a multiplicity of transistors having upper most layers forming collectors which comprises transforming upper most layers by anodic etching at least partly to porous silicon and supplying each individual transistor with a respective etching current for imparting an individual optical characteristic thereto.
 2. The process defined in claim 1 wherein said transistors are formed as pnp photodiodes.
 3. The process defined in claim 2 wherein individual pnp photodiodes are connected columnwise and row wise, respective electrical currents being applied to the pnp photodiodes by application to respective rows and columns for selecting individual optical characteristics for the respective photodiodes.
 4. A process for producing a multiplicity of electric components, comprising the steps of: forming a layer sequence having transistor functions selected from npn transistor, heterobipolar transistor, pnp transistor and photodetector functions and thereby forming an upper silicon layer; anodically etching said upper layer to render the same porous; and biasing transistor connections of said functions so that individual transistors are supplied with respective selected etching currents for forming desired filtering functions thereof.
 5. The process defined in claim 4 wherein during the anodic etching an electrolyte is provided above the layer sequence to serve as an electrical connection for the anodic etching and the biasing.
 6. The process defined in claim 5 wherein, in the formation of the layer sequence, n, p, n and p layers are formed in sequence on a substrate and npn layers of said sequence form a phototransistor.
 7. The process defined in claim 5 wherein red, blue and green color filters are formed by selectively etching the respective transistor functions.
 8. The process defined in claim 7 wherein the transistor functions are connected column wise and row wise and the transistor functions are individually biased by election of respective electrical currents to the respective columns and rows to select the optical characters of the individual transistor functions. 